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Think of any designer luxury bag you could buy right now.
A few popular silhouettes might come to mind: The Dior Saddle; The Prada Cleo; Gucci’s latest iteration of their 1960s style, The Jackie.
But what if we told you the expert-approved move might be to spend your money on lesser-known, mid-tier luxury brands? Recently, there seems to have been an uptick of people complaining about being fatigued by the designer luxury bag space — you know, those big Fashion Houses that come to mind when asked if you could have any bag, which one would you get? — and they have some pretty convincing points about why to invest in a lesser-known, but still up-to-par, name-brand bag.
It goes without saying that it’ll cost you if you’re looking to invest in a luxury designer bag.
The price of some Chanel bags has risen by almost two-thirds since before the pandemic, while other brands, from Bottega to Hermès, have also raised prices.
Take the revitalized Fendi Baguette, for example.
Dubbed the “one of the first true It bags” by Vogue, it is still reminiscent of its iconic Y2K silhouette, but price tags are heftier than ever.
We’re talking basically the same bag with a price increase that has more than doubled (the average cost in 2006 was $1,500 and now is around $3,800).
Owning a designer bag has become increasingly inaccessible.
Even if you’re looking at resale sites like The Real Real and Vestiaire Collective, prices might not budge or only go for a not-so-noticeable difference from what they sell for in-store.
So, we hear you if you have a hard time justifying spending so much on a bag you’re not totally in love with — or are just feeling generally unimpressed by this year’s styles.
Many Gen Z consumers turn to vintage or mid-tier luxury for their handbags.
According to The Real Real, demand for the “collectible vintage” category is up by 439%.
And if you’re not familiar with mid-range luxury, the tagline explainer goes like this: “Pricer than Zara, cheaper than Prada” — and it’s an uber-popular option, too.
Fashion Trend Forecaster and Editor Kendall Becker observed a notable spike in interest on Trendalytics in mid-priced luxury brands and average weekly searches.
She shares why that might be: “With easy access to information from TikTok to publications, consumers are increasingly becoming interested in where their products are coming from and how they’re made––case in point, understanding that often a price-tag doesn’t necessarily correspond to quality,” Becker tells Teen Vogue.
Quality has been top-of-mind for buyers.
One leather expert and TikToker, Tanner Leatherstein, is even going viral for cutting up popular styles (yes — you read that right.
He’s literally taking scissors to a Prada.
The pain!) to show whether or not the materials are worth the price tag.
Not to mention….
